Spruce Pine Potters Market

Here are a couple of pictures of the many wonderful potters showing and selling their work today and tomorrow in Spruce Pine, NC. I'll post a couple every day for the next few days. This first one is Will Baker's elegant wood and soda fired work. These pots as well as Joy Tanners wonderful forms, in the second photo, are from the second firing in the new pallet kiln that Mark Peters designed and built at the Energy Exchange.

It was so crowded that I had a hard time trying to get in a good position to take photos; but these will give you an idea of the quality and variety of work available at this annual show and sale.

I actually got some studio time this afternoon - mixed and strained a couple of slips, and dipped a bunch of pots; but unfortunately I tipped a 5 gallon of flashing slip and spent the rest of the time cleaning up the mess. Fortunately, I managed to grab the bucket before it totally emptied - not a fun job. I also broke the rim of the porcelain platter I was dipping - another one of those studio AARGH moments!

By the time I finished the cleanup it was time to come in and get dinner which was easy since it was the escarole,sausage, bean and potato soup I made the other day. Tomorrow I'll try to get more slip and  brushwork done on some of the pots after breakfast; but in the afternoon  I have an azalea, a fig tree and some garlic to plant  and a baked pasta dish to make for dinner, so I'll need another couple of days to finish decorating this group of pots, fitting studio time in between the fall garden cleanup, meal prep and animal care.